At least one of the five Memphis police officers charged with murdering Tyre Nichols is facing additional scrutiny after he allegedly took photos of Nichols and sent them to six other people.
Former officer Demetrius Haley stood over a beaten and handcuffed Nichols and took photos of him as he lay propped up against a police car according to the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission.
Haley reportedly took the photos on his personal cellphone and sent the photos to others in and outside of the police department.
“Haley admitted he shared the photo in a text message with five people; one civilian employee, two MPD officers and one female acquaintance,” the Commercial Appeal reported.
In addition to the five, a sixth person also received the photo according to the New York Times.
Haley can be seen taking the photos in one of the graphic set of videos released by the City of Memphis. The SkyCop camera which was mounted on top of a utility pole produced an overhead shot of Nichols being held by officers as others took turns punching, kicking and hitting him with a baton. The SkyCop camera also captured Haley snapping photos.
As Nichols was being propped up against the police car, Haley shines a flashlight on Nichols to take the photos.
Details of the photos of Nichols were a part of a set of documents produced by the Memphis Police Department to decertify the officers involved.
“Your on-duty conduct was unjustly, blatantly unprofessional and unbecoming for a sworn public servant” the decertification documents said of the officers, The Associated Press reported.
“You and other officers were captured on body worn camera making multiple unprofessional comments, laughing, bragging about your involvement,” the documents said.
Memphis Police Department policy prohibits officers from using personal cellphones while performing patrol duties,…
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